Goodbye Iowa
by Fireworks8725
Summary: Riley and Jane were high school sweetharts until Riley left for Sunnydale and joined the Initiative. This is their story and how Sunnydale and Buffy changed the life they planned for each other...


_**Good Morning, Iowa**_

_He graduated high school at the top of his class. The class was small, being in Huxley, Iowa, but we were all so proud of him anyways. He was Captain of every team, ambassador of every cause, and friend of every single person in that building for four years. I knew because I was there._

Riley Finn was high school sweetheart; my elementary school sweetheart even. He has called me his girlfriend since kindergarten, and called me his wife since the 7th grade. I never had a doubt in my mind that I'd be Mrs. Riley Finn for the rest of my life. In truth, we never even walked down the aisle.

I remember the day we graduated. He was on stage giving his valedictorian speech and accepting all his honors. He was enrolled in a military program that was giving him a free ride through UC Sunnydale. He was glowing up there. He looked down on me in the crowd, sitting with the rest of our class, and he smiled at me.

"I'd like to dedicate these awards to the greatest girl…Jane Abrams. I wouldn't have made it this far if she hadn't been there for all of it."

The crowd was all family who had known us our whole lives, knew us well, and they just politely smiled and threw in the appropriate awing.

Riley skipped off stage to take his seat beside me and kissed my forehead.

It was all so perfect. I can't say that I look on it with any bad feelings….I just wish things didn't have to end.

He was dressed in his military fatigues. It was the end of summer now, three months after that wonderful graduation. We were standing alone together beside his Mom's empty car. She was driving him to the airport.

We didn't speak.

I fell forward softly, leaning myself against him. I let my head drop by his shoulder, where it had been many times before.

"I love you Jane, always. I'm just going to love you from far away for a little while..." He smiled that reassuring nice guy grin.

"Oh Riley…" I pushed my face against the hard pads of his uniform to stop the moisture from pushing past my eyelids.

I didn't want to make this hard for him. I had all summer to prepare for this. I was so busy with enjoying every second with him that I didn't bother to register that it would be our last.

…..

_I ran across the pool deck and performed a lovely cannon ball jump into the pool. _

_Riley and my brother Marcus laughed at me in my orange and white striped one-piece suit. Soaking wet, I leapt out from under the water and splashed them both. It was like something out of an old 30's flick. We had no care in the world._

_Mom came out back and left a tray of cookies and a pitcher of juice. _

"_Thanks Ma!" Marc yelled out, just as Riley splashed at him. Luckily he closed his mouth fast enough to avoid getting any chlorine down his throat._

_We played a quick uneven game of volleyball, and lay out in the grass with Mom's cookies all night._

_We were young and in wonderful innocent love._

….

Back in the first grade, I remember seeing his Dad's car in my driveway. My grandmother was headed out and she opened the door on a nervous boy with a flower in his hand. Later I found out he had been standing there half an hour. Who knows if I would ever have gotten that flower if Grandma hadn't been heading out…

One of my favorite memories was back in the 6th grade…we snuck out to a 7th grade party. We played spin the bottle. It was our first real kiss.

….

Watching that car drive away was one of the hardest things you could have ever asked me to do in my life. I wanted to crawl up into a hole and die there without my Riley. I stood there on the road where the car had once been and toyed with the ring on my left hand. It was a promise ring. I let a tear finally fall. I wanted to be strong… I walked back up to the house behind me, the one we shared with my brother, and sat on the steps. Things would never be the same again.

"Riley?"

"Yes my love?"

I blushed on my end of the phone.

"Do you miss Iowa?" I asked.

"I miss _you_." He whispered.

"I love you Riley…"

I heard a beeping noise in the background.

"I have to go Jane. I promise I will call you soon as I can." He said and hung up.

_When did you get a beeper?_


End file.
